The Homeland Security Department announced new security measuresWednesday for international flights bound to the United States.

Industry and U.S. officials briefed on the announcement saidairlines flying directly to the United States will be required to implement theenhanced measures. If they don’t, their passengers may be barred from carryinglaptops and other large electronics in passenger cabins.

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Such a laptop ban has been in place at 10 airports in the MiddleEast and Africa since March amid concerns about an undisclosed threat describedonly as sophisticated and ongoing. The ban applies to nonstop flights to theUnited States from Amman, Jordan; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Cairo; Istanbul; Jeddahand Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Casablanca, Morocco; Doha, Qatar; and Dubai and AbuDhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The roughly 50 affected flights are onforeign airlines.

The new policy will provide a roadmap for airlines and airportsthat could lead to those bans being lifted. Neither official provided atimeline for compliance. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity becausethey were not authorized to discuss the changes publicly before the governmentannouncement Wednesday afternoon.

The government had been considering expanding the laptop ban toinclude some European airports. The new measure sidetracks those plans, thoughthey could resurface if airlines don’t comply with the new guidelines.

The changes comes after the Transportation SecurityAdministration said this month that it is testing computed-tomography, or CT,scanning at one checkpoint at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

The technology is already used for screening checked luggage,but the cost and larger size of the CT scanners has held back their use forcarry-on bags. TSA had expected to begin testing CT scanners for carry-onluggage by the end of 2016.